Sometimes the most dedicated, the most committed, and
the most active conservatives are people who weren't
always conservatives; many of them have come over to
our side and our cause from the Left, having eschewed
socialism and communism. David Horowitz was one such
person.
David grew up in this leftist milieu and was a fervent communist
into his thirties. He had one flaw where his comrades were
concerned; he had the nasty habit of questioning everything.
This habit caused Horowitz to turn away from his youthful
radicalism and embrace conservatism. This move launched
his career and began his reputation as one of the most
prominent conservative thinkers of our time.
Having been on --- and one of --- the Left, David Horowitz
understood the Left and their adherents; everything about
the ideology and its followers from its underlying motivations
to its tactics, and ultimately to how to confront and defeat it.
His life was an example of courage, intellectual rigor and clarity,
and unflinching moral conviction blended with action. He saw
the Left for what it is, in all its deception and its uncovered ugliness.
His David Horowitz Freedom Center launched many a political
career, sending conservative spokesmen and spokeswomen into
battle for conservatism. Many of these young activists ran for
office, were appointed to government positions, became opinion
journalists espousing conservative ideas, faculty members at
colleges, and many more such positions with opportunities to
spread conservative thought and practice.
Horowitz also wrote many books and articles. He debated.
He didn't just debate, he marched into battle entering hostile
auditoriums and did intellectual battle with Marxist professors
and students, Islamist apologists, and race hustlers. In all, he
published over 50 books, debated thousands, mentored dozens,
all with just a few weapons: truth, moral clarity, ice water in his
veins, and a razor-sharp tongue. His opponents never had a chance.
Twenty-six years ago, in 1999, Horowitz openly castigated the Left
for its weaponization of civil rights and its festering hatred of white
people. Conservatives had been too timid to take on the Left over
these issues and would not do so for another twenty years, but
Horowitz blazed a trail for them by doing exactly that.
His final book --- his Grand Finale --- was published in 2023; he was
84 by then. David Horowitz never retired, as he held that his work was
too important to just shelve for the sake of retirement. He passed away
yesterday at 88, leaving a legacy of staunch advocacy for freedom,
reinforced with moral and intellectual clarity, and championing the
truth regardless of the cost.
You shall be missed, Lion of modern conservatism, always remembered
but never forgotten. Requiescat in pace.
MEM
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